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March 24th, 2025 02:36
Inspiron 3030, 2.5" SATA SSD install location?
Inspiron 3030 Desktop
What location for inserting a 2.5 inch SATA SSD?
I know where a hard drive goes. I know there is a $50 caddy to do it. I do NOT know the location for the caddy. Photos of it seem NOT to be the same place as the HD AND/OR seem to be oriented turned 90 degrees.
I know the connector for an optical drive is SATA 2, not SATA 3. I know there are 2 SATA 3 "slots". Can the SSD be located where the DVD drive would be & still use SATA 3 cables?
Could someone get a photo showing SATA SSD installed location?
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JimJW3
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April 4th, 2025 20:28
Here is where the ORICO adapter goes in the Inspiron 3030 tower.
- the very same place a hard drive goes!
I could NOT get the DVD-lilke adapter to fit anywhere in the 3030.
Chino de Oro
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March 24th, 2025 05:38
Re: What location for inserting a 2.5 inch SATA SSD?
You can install a 2.5" SATA SSD in the hard drive caddy that was designed for 3.5" hard drive, using a 3.5" to 2.5" hard drive adapter.
The hard drive caddy location is next to the CPU cooler as pictured below. There are two SATA ports on your system board. Blue one is for HDD/SSD and white one is for optical drive. See #13 and #11 on system board picture below.
You may also installing 2.5" SATA SSD to the optical space using an optical to 2.5" adapter and an optional hard drive + optical caddy.
JimJW3
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March 24th, 2025 07:03
@Chino de Oro , thanks for trying to help. I tried to edit above, but cannot. My board is for Inspiron 3030. It has 3 SATA "slots", 2 being SATA 3 for drives. The HD ordinarily is vertical behind the front panel.
(edited)
Chino de Oro
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March 24th, 2025 07:17
It seems that you have the tower, not small desktop form factor. The 2.5" SATA SSD can be installed in a 3.5" caddy and will be installed onto the front chassis, underneath the optical drive. See picture below.
Chino de Oro
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March 24th, 2025 07:18
Installation video https://www.dell.com/support/contents/en-bs/videos/videoplayer/how-to-replace-the-hard-drive-on-inspiron-3030-tower-desktop-and-vostro-3030-tower-desktop/6363277244112
Chino de Oro
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March 24th, 2025 07:23
......or you can install a 2.5" SATA SSD into an optical caddy and connecting to one of SATA 3 port for better performance.
JimJW3
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March 25th, 2025 00:19
it looks like i might be able to install an SSD in the optical drive slot even without a caddy. But I might need the caddy for the connectors?
bradthetechnut
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March 25th, 2025 03:06
You can still connect an SSD without the caddy, but would still need the caddy to hold it in place unless you have something else in mind.
JimJW3
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April 2nd, 2025 07:42
Does anyone have a photo of the ORICO Adapter installed in the Inspiron 3030 tower?
(edited)
bradthetechnut
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April 2nd, 2025 22:08
You might want to check YouTube. Is this the one you're thinking of?: https://a.co/d/jhyd7fD or https://a.co/d/iRLPW6v
Either one still goes into the full size HDD caddy.
JimJW3
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April 4th, 2025 20:31
I could not get the DVD-like adapter to fit anywhere in the 3030
alittlefaith
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April 8th, 2025 23:33
@JimJW3 what do you mean by "dvd like adapter"?
bradthetechnut
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April 8th, 2025 23:40
@alittlefaith You know where the slimline DVD drive goes? An adapter can go there that holds a 2.5" HDD or SSD.
bradthetechnut
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April 8th, 2025 23:44
@JimJW3 I wonder if you ended up getting the wrong DVD adapter.
As far as the 3030 is concerned, I may have been incorrect about the SSD adapter needing to go in an original caddy. If your HDD is directly screwed in place, the same would go for the SSD adapter.
(edited)
alittlefaith
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April 8th, 2025 23:45
@bradthetechnut, based on what they have said so far, it should fit.